Super Gene

"Who?" Han Sen was shocked by the sudden instruction. He looked around, but again, the voice was accompanied by no nearby person. Han Sen gritted his teeth and bid for Moment Queen to follow him. He wanted to get as far away from this strange place as he could right now.

When he lifted his leg, Han Sen felt something. He dashed out of the way just as the ground cracked open and a lashing vine suddenly appeared.

Amazed, Han Sen saw it was coming from the Empty Vine. Many more shot through the ground, all seemingly coming for him.

"F*ck my luck," Han Sen swore to himself. He jumped, summoned his Flaming Rex Spike, and swung it at the vines that came towards him.

The Flaming Rex Spike, that he again imbued with a green light, tore through numerous vines. But it was seemingly to no avail, as more and more vines appeared.

Han Sen jumped and attempted to go airborne, but in the next second, he froze. Countless vines sprung out of the ground like a coven of wyverns. They twirled in between each other, forming a barrier to block his ascent.

Dong!

Han Sen’s Flaming Rex Spike whacked against a vine that was thicker than a train. He created a meter-thick dent in the vine, but it wasn’t nearly enough to cut through it and give himself release.

Many other vines now came towards him, and Han Sen could do naught but run. He cast Aero and took off flying low. He dodged many of the vines that came for him, but the chance of escape seemed slim.

Han Sen did not dare use wings, because the wings were nowhere close to the speed of Aero. And neither were they as agile. If he used his wings, a vine was sure to grab ahold of him and pull him down.

Moment Queen moved quickly alongside him. She appeared to be a whole lot more relaxed than Han Sen was, however. It was strange to see her so composed, given the situation. The vines that netted together continued to grow and extend across the sky, forming a cage that would eventually to keep them trapped where they were.

"Make him stay." Han Sen heard the woman’s voice once more.

"Make who stay? There’s no need to be so ambiguous and mysterious; just tell it to me straight!" Han Sen still couldn’t see where the woman was talking to him from, but he still spoke aloud in response.

Han Sen did not think what he said would yield much of anything, but after he spoke, the raging vines stopped and returned to the soil.

Han Sen looked around, but no one appeared. All the super creatures that had come to the mountain for the fruit had now dispersed and vanished.

Only a few remained. There was the griffin, which was dead. And there were also the black-flame phoenix, the green kirin, the black skeleton, and the black tiger; they stood atop the peak as if they were frozen. He was unsure what they were doing.

But after taking a closer look, he was given quite a shock. The legs of the four super creatures had grown roots, and vines had replaced what was once their hair.

Their eyes seemed sullen and empty, as they stood there. They looked like vegetables, unable to move or even blink.

Han Sen used his devil-eye mask to watch them. Their lifeforces were still strong, but ever so slowly, that energy was being driven into the roots.

Needless to say, Han Sen was quite surprised. He thought to himself, "Is this the way the Empty Vine produces its offspring? All these creatures are made to become some sort of parasite-host, is that it? And they provide the nutrients for the newborn vines?"

Han Sen thought it was a terrifying thing to witness, and that the vines were scarier than any other creature he had encountered before. Fortunately for him, he had decided not to eat the Empty Fruit. Becoming fertilizer was not in his best interests.

If such powerful creatures were unable to resist the parasite-like being, Han Sen’s human body would never have stood a chance.

"What is the current situation, then? The four Empty Fruit have already found their hosts, so why does it want me here? What does she want?" Han Sen now believed the woman’s voice was in fact the Empty Vine, since the voice seemed to control it.

Han Sen, however, couldn’t comprehend what the vine might have wanted from him. And neither did he know who the person she wished for him to make stay was.

The strange woman’s voice no longer spoke to him, though. As he scanned the area in confusion, the Empty Vine that poked through the peak of the mountain began to stretch open as if blossoming.

A new vine stretched out from the center, and there, Han Sen saw a fist-sized green fruit. It was glowing beneath the sunlight with a lime glare.

Han Sen’s nose smelled something nice, and it made his body feel at ease. In his heart, he thought to himself, "Moment Queen was right, after all. The four fruits from earlier were not the genuine Empty Fruit. This one right here has to be the real one."

Han Sen, however, did not dare to approach. He merely watched the crystal-clear fruit that hung on the vine from afar. He could see where its core was, and there was a baby-like thing inside, similar to a fetus.

The baby was too small, and it was all curled up, obscuring its gender.

While Han Sen looked at it, this single vine approached him. The fruit hung from the vine less than ten feet away from him.

The baby that was curled up inside the core had its eyes closed, yet Han Sen felt as if he was being checked out by it. He felt as if he was being watched.

"Make him stay and you can go." Not long after, Han Sen heard the female voice once more.

"Are you talking to me?" Han Sen looked at the baby inside the fruit with much shock and posed the question to it.

"Who else?" The female voice spoke, as the Empty Fruit trembled upon the vine it grew upon. It was telling him that it was indeed her that was talking.

"Are you the super creature created by the Empty Vine?" When Han Sen said this, he suddenly felt rather stupid. The answer to that question was fairly obvious.

"Sort of, yes. But sort of no, too." The baby’s answer surprised Han Sen.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Han Sen asked with curiosity, while a portion of his mind thought of a way he could escape the area.

He had a lot of treasure on him, but he didn’t want to give it to anyone. No matter what the baby wanted, he wouldn’t give away anything of his.

"With Little Silver, the little angel, and Moment Queen, and the unreliable fairy, I should be able to flee from here." Han Sen then looked at the four super creatures that were starting to look like plants, and suddenly lost the confidence he had just given himself.